PowerShell command line containing powercat invocation on Windows

Alerts when classic PowerShell starts with Powercat-related command-line strings ('powercat ' or 'powercat.ps1').

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2

Product: windows
Category: ps_classic_start
Author: frack113 (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published: 2021-07-21
Updated: 2026-07-31

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → C2

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1059.001PowerShell
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
- T1095Non-Application Layer Protocol
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule flags PowerShell classic process start activity where the command line includes the string "powercat " or "powercat.ps1". Adversaries may use the PowerShell powercat tooling for non-application-layer style network communication to C2 or between hosts, so spotting these command-line indicators can help identify suspicious execution. It relies on telemetry that records PowerShell classic process start command-line content on Windows.

Reporting behind it

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PowerShell command line containing powercat invocation on Windows

Pivot detection · T1059.001 · 9 related

Changelog

v2
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v1
No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.

windows-powershell-command-start-with-powercat-invocation-c5b20776

title: PowerShell command line containing powercat invocation on Windows
id: e9ecb570-bb79-4c67-9e48-0fe4ec6ded9c
related:
  - id: bf7286e7-c0be-460b-a7e8-5b2e07ecc2f2
    type: derived
  - id: c5b20776-639a-49bf-94c7-84f912b91c15
    type: derived
status: test
description: This rule flags PowerShell classic process start activity where the command line includes the string "powercat " or "powercat.ps1". Adversaries may use the PowerShell powercat tooling for non-application-layer style network communication to C2 or between hosts, so spotting these command-line indicators can help identify suspicious execution. It relies on telemetry that records PowerShell classic process start command-line content on Windows.
references:
  - https://nmap.org/ncat/
  - https://github.com/besimorhino/powercat
  - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1095/T1095.md
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/powershell/powershell_classic/posh_pc_powercat.yml
author: frack113, Huntrule Team
date: 2021-07-21
modified: 2023-10-27
tags:
  - attack.command-and-control
  - attack.execution
  - attack.t1095
  - attack.t1059.001
logsource:
  product: windows
  category: ps_classic_start
detection:
  selection:
    Data|contains:
      - "powercat "
      - powercat.ps1
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Unknown
level: medium
license: DRL-1.1

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